Genoa (2008)

Directed by: Michael Winterbottom | 90 minutes | drama | Actors: Colin Firth, Hope Davis, Allessandro Giuggioli, Demetri Goritsas, Kyle Griffin, Monica Bennati, Dante Ciari, Gherardo Crucitti, Perla Haney-Jardine, Willa Holland, Catherine Keener, Kieran O’Brien, Margherita Romeo, Gabriella Santinelli, Kerry Shale , Trevor White, Gary Wilmes

After ‘A Mighty Heart’ (2007) – which was set in the Middle East – director Michael Winterbottom this time settled in Liguria, Italy, for his film ‘Genova’. You don’t have to count on a holiday feeling as a viewer… When Marianne (Hope Davis), mother of Kelly (Willa Holland) and Mary (Perla Haney-Jardine), plays an innocent game with her children during a car ride, things go completely wrong. While driving Mary puts her hands in front of Marianne’s eyes, who as a result loses control of the wheel and crashes. She passes away, leaving her children and husband Joe (Colin Firth) in deep mourning. Mary also feels very guilty for the death of her mother.

To change their lives, Joe decides to accept an offer from an old friend – Barbara (Catherine Keener) – to teach at the University of Genoa for a year. The three of them go to Italy, where Joe can get started right away. However, Kelly and Mary are still on vacation and are mainly focusing on their piano lessons. at least; Mary especially. Kelly quickly gets a lot of attention from Italian boys and regularly takes a break to explore her sexuality.

The story doesn’t really go anywhere. Just so you know. Is that bad? No absolutely not. Indeed, ‘Genova’ has become a very intimate and moving film about how each member of the family tries to cope with the family drama and the culture shock they experience at the same time in the mystical, old Genoa. The relationship between family members is central. Joe has an unbounded love for his daughters and tries to make up for the loss of Marianne for them. Kelly is very angry with Mary, who she holds responsible for the miserable life she has ended up in. Mary tries to keep up, but her guilt and sadness are very deep, as witnessed by the many nights in which she screams for her mother. She also sees the spirit of Marianne appear every now and then. Such scenes touch you deeply, without being too sentimental. The way of filming that Winterbottom loves so much – the handheld camera, natural light and improvisation during scenes – really makes you feel ‘being there’ and you experience the pain of each of the main characters. The music (many melancholy piano pieces) and sounds also contribute to the sometimes indefinable atmosphere of the film. Like when Kelly sits on the back of the scooter and hurtles through the busy city traffic. The sounds of traffic are getting louder and more hollow, just like before the accident. Or the awkward silence when Mary tells Joe that people never talk about Marianne at all, as if she never existed. While she misses her mother so terribly.

The acting is superb. You never have the impression that you are watching actors. Perla Haney-Jardine as the endearing, adorable Mary is truly phenomenal. This girl who also starred in ‘Spider-Man 3′ (2007) and ‘Untraceable’ (2008) is likely to have a big career ahead of her. Colin Firth is good as always (when he’s not trying to sing too!) and Willa Holland is well chosen as the girl who is starting to become a sexy woman. As an ex-model she is only very thin and therefore not realistic comparison material for healthy girls of the same age. Of course ‘Genova’ is also advertising for the city of Genoa, just like ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ (2008) was for the Catalan capital. But with the latter, did you often have the idea that you were at the travel agency; in Genoa, the atmosphere of the city just serves the story very well. Beautiful, but also a bit spooky because of its narrow, dark alleys with sinister figures that roam around.

‘Genova’: a story about three family members who do ordinary things but all three have to deal with a loss and deal with it in their own way. Gripping enough to more than compensate for the lack of a climax.